This invention relates generally to athletic shoes and particularly to a shoe for cheerleaders having a sole formed to facilitate holding the shoe and improving the comfort of the cheerleader helper.
During the performance of cheerleader routines and stunts it is often necessary for a female cheerleader to be held aloft by a helper, usually a male cheerleader, who holds the foot of the female cheerleader so that the shoe sits on the palm of the hand of the helper.
In general, the structure of the sole is not conducive to a comfortable handhold and accordingly it is an object of this invention to provide a shoe sole which is formed to facilitate the holding of the shoe.
It is also common during the performance of cheerleader routines for the cheerleader to be supported by the shoulders of the helper in the vicinity of the neck of the helper. It is another object of this invention to provide an improved arcuate portion of the shoe instep to make this shoulder support more comfortable for the helper and provide a better grip for the cheerleader during shoulder-standing stunts. The arcuate portion, in addition, provides increased holding capability for the handhold of the helper in the ball of the thumb area during other routines.
This improved cheerleader shoe includes an upper and a sole portion, the sole including a front portion, an instep area and a heel portion, the instep area including an outside portion, an inside portion and a connecting bottom portion, and said outside portion including groove means providing at least one finger-receiving groove to facilitate the holding of the shoe by a cheerleader helper during the performance of cheerleader routines.
It is an aspect of the invention that a plurality of finger-receiving grooves are provided in the instep outside portion, and in one aspect of the invention four grooves are provided.
It is another aspect of the invention that the heel portion includes a rear area including at least one finger-receiving groove to further facilitate the holding of the shoe.
Still another aspect of the invention is that the instep area bottom portion and inside portion are molded to form an arcuate face having a configuration to facilitate comfortably receiving the said instep portion on the shoulder of a cheerleader helper during performance of cheerleader shoulder-standing routines and additionally facilitates the handhold on the inside of the shoe during other routines so that the handhold is more secure.
It is yet another aspect of the invention that the arcuate face includes includes a plurality of ribs providing gripping means so that the grip on the shoulder, and also the handhold on the inside of the shoe are enhanced.
It is an aspect of this invention to provide an improved cheerleader shoe which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and is effective for its intended use.